A Myers Research & Strategic Services poll released Thursday for Schauer's campaign showed him ahead of Walberg, 42 percent to 36 percent.

The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 4.4 percent.

Within hours of the release of Schauer's poll, Walberg's campaign announced results from its own internal poll that showed the first-term congressman leading his opponent, 50 percent to 40 percent.

The margin of error was plus or minus 5.7 percent.

The Schauer campaign poll also showed a 25 percentage-point boost in Schauer's name recognition with voters since the group's May survey.

Walberg is recognized by 76 percent of voters, compared to 67 percent for Schauer, according to the poll that surveyed 500 likely voters by telephone Wednesday and Thursday.

Schauer's campaign said it's a sign the state senator's message was starting to hit home with more voters.

"Bottom line, while this race remains competitive, these voters are aligned for change and Schauer's campaign is clearly taking root," pollster Andrew Myers said in a written statement released by the campaign.

In the latest poll for the Walberg camp, the percentage of voters who said they would vote for the incumbent was up 3 percentage points from a July poll by the same group, National Research Inc., according to his campaign.

Walberg also posted a 57 percent favorability rating among the 300 likely voters who were surveyed for the poll by phone on Sept. 15 and 16.

Quoted candidates

If you want to find out what the presidential candidates have to say about the auto industry, immigration or Iraq, a new Web feature can help you sort through their statements.

Google's "In Quotes" allows users to compare what each candidate, VP picks or a number of other politicians have said about a particular topic that is typed into the search bar.

You also can browse statements by President Bush, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi by visiting labs.google.com/inquotes.